Elastic headwear

ABSTRACT

Elastic headwear has a crown portion being stretchable in at least a circumferential direction thereof, and having a plurality of pieces. At least one piece is made of a stretchable warp knitted mesh which has at least one non-covered stretch yarn and a plurality of non-stretch yarns. The non-covered yarn and the plurality of non-stretch yarns are provided in rows without being twisted with each other.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to elastic headwear, and more particularlyto ventilated elastic headwear using a warp knitted mesh.

(b) Description of the Related Art

Conventional elastic headwear such as a cap and a hat includes anelastic crown portion and a stretchable sweatband. This design isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,540. The elastic crown portion is madeof a solid material which may cause the head to become overheated inwarm weather because it is not well ventilated.

Attempts to enhance ventilation have been made, such as U.S. Pat. No.6,067,658. This design has a crown composed of double-knit weft knittedfabrics. The double-knit weft knitted fabrics may enhance theventilation of the cap, but they are so soft that it is difficult forthe cap to retain its shape during carriage or display for sale.

In addition, mesh-type warp knitted fabric has been used as a crownportion in order to enhance the ventilation, as well as for shaperetention of the headwear. The mesh-type warp knitted fabric isprocessed by stretching it on a tenter frame, heating it to providestiffness, and stabilizing it. However, this results in a lack ofelasticity of the cap.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the prior art described above, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide elastic headwear having a stretchable warp knittedmesh which has enhanced ventilation as well as shape-retention.

To achieve this and other objects, as embodied and broadly describedherein, elastic headwear includes a head-covering portion beingstretchable in at least a circumferential direction thereof, and asweatband being stretchable in at least a circumferential directionthereof. The head-covering portion has a plurality of pieces, and atleast one piece is made of a stretchable warp knitted mesh which has atleast one non-covered stretch yarn and a plurality of non-stretch yarns.The non-covered stretch yarn and the plurality of non-stretch yarns areprovided in rows without being twisted with each other. The non-coveredstretch yarn is hereinafter referred to as a stretch yarn which is notcovered by any covering yarn, by contrast with a conventional coveredstretch yarn such as spandex covered yarn.

The non-covered stretch yarn is preferably selected from a non-coveredspandex yarn and a textured yarn.

The stretchable warp knitted mesh of the crown portion is preferablyaligned such that the course direction of the mesh is substantiallyidentical with the circumferential direction.

Both the foregoing general description and the following DetailedDescription are exemplary and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings provide further understanding of theinvention, and together with the Detailed Description, explain theprinciples of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a cap according tothe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the cap of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of stretchable warp knitted mesh;

FIG. 4 is a photograph showing the stretchable warp knitted mesh;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a cap accordingto the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the cap of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a cap 10 has a crown portion 100 for beingworn on a head of a wearer, a visor portion 200 coupled to the crownportion 100 for blocking sunlight, and a stretchable sweatband 300provided at the interior circumference of the crown portion 100. Thepresent invention is not limited to the cap as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,which merely shows an example as a kind of application, and it may be ahat or other various kinds of headwear.

The crown portion 100 is made up of a plurality of pieces such as frontpieces 110, 120, side pieces 130, 160, and rear pieces 140, 150, whichform a hemispherical shape of the crown portion. The front pieces 110,120 may be stiffened using materials known in the art to enhance theappearance of the cap 10.

The other pieces 130-160 are made of stretchable warp knitted mesh forenhanced ventilation and shape retention. The stretchable warp knittedmesh may be manufactured with general warp knitting machines such asTricot, Raschel, and Milanese knitting machines. FIG. 3 shows an exampleof the stretchable warp knitted mesh. The mesh is composed of threethreads M1, M2, M3, and it is produced using six needles. The threadsM1, M2 are non-stretch threads, and they are made up of a plurality ofnon-stretch yarns which are synthetic yarns selected from Nylon,Polyester, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polyethylene (PE), andPolypropylene (PP). The thread M3 is stretchable, and it is made up ofat least one non-covered stretch yarn Y1 and a plurality of non-stretchyarns Y2. The non-covered yarn Y1 and the plurality of non-stretch yarnsY2 are provided in rows without being twisted with each other, as shownin the enlarged view of FIG. 3. For example, the non-covered yarns Y1are two, while the non-stretch yarns Y2 are thirty in one thread M3 ofFIG. 3.

The non-covered stretch yarn Y1 may be a spandex yarn which is notcovered by any covering yarn as is in the conventional spandex coveredyarn. The non-covered stretch yarn Y1 may be a textured yarn. Thetextured yarns are those which have been mechanically or chemicallytreated to impart kinks, curls, or crimps to the individual filaments toenhance latent contraction thereof.

The non-stretch yarns Y2 are synthetic yarns selected from Nylon,Polyester, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polyethylene (PE), andPolypropylene (PP), similar to the threads M1, M2.

Because the non-covered stretch yarn Y1 is disposed with the non-stretchyarns Y2 without twisting, the thread M3 has a grain which looks as ifmany lines of the synthetic yarns are disposed in their lengthwisedirection. In contrast, conventional stretchable thread is produced witha spandex yarn at its core and non-stretch yarns twisted around the coreto cover the spandex yarn, so its grain looks different than the threadM3.

The mesh is stretchable in a course direction as well as a waledirection, since the stretch threads M3 resides in both directions. Themesh is preferably aligned such that the course direction thereof issubstantially identical with the circumferential direction of the crownportion 100. In this case, the thread M3 is disposed to show verticallines on the crown portion 100 as shown in FIG. 4, facilitating thecrown portion 100 to stand somewhat erect for appearance purposes. Thevertical lines of thread M3 are also aesthetically pleasing since theyarns Y1, Y2 are not twisted, but are displaced together in rows toprominently show the vertical grain of the thread M3 while the crownportion 100 is provided with stretchability.

When a wearer wears the cap 10 of FIGS. 1-2, the cap stretches in thecircumferential direction to enhance wearing comfort due to rapid sweatevaporation and ventilation through the pieces 130-160 of the crownportion 100.

Referring now to FIGS. 5-6, a second embodiment of the present inventionwill be described. A cap 20 is similar to the cap 10 of FIGS. 1-2,except that the cap 20 has a size adjustment member 400 in order tofurther adjust the size thereof. The cap 20 has a crown portion 100 forbeing worn on a head of a wearer, a visor portion 200 coupled to thecrown portion 100 for blocking sunlight, and a stretchable sweatband 300provided at the interior circumference of the crown portion 100. Thesize adjustment member 400 may be a pair of plastic straps as shown inFIGS. 5-6. The cap 20 which utilizes this size adjustment member 400 hasa semicircular open area forming a gap at the rear pieces 140, 150 ofthe crown portion 100, and the straps are attached at opposite ends ofthe open area. The first strap has a plurality of holes, and the secondstrap has a plurality of protrusions designed to engage the holes of thefirst strap. The cap 20 with the size adjustment member 400 typicallyaccommodates a larger range of cap sizes than the cap 10 of the firstembodiment of the present invention.

Another type of size adjustment member may be a pair of straps utilizingwhat is referred to as Velcro hook and loop fastener means. The overallstructure and appearance of a cap which utilizes this means is similarto the above. A first strap having a Velcro loop fastener patch isattached to one end of the open area, and a second strap having acorresponding Velcro hook fastener patch is attached to the opposite endof the open area.

Yet another type of size adjustment member may include a continuouslyadjustable belt with a buckle assembly.

The crown portion 100 is made up of a plurality of pieces such as frontpieces 110, 120, side pieces 130, 160, and rear pieces 140, 150 whichform a hemispherical shape of the crown portion. The front pieces 110,120 may be stiffened using materials known in the art to enhance theappearance of the cap 10.

The other pieces 130-160 are made of stretchable warp knitted mesh forenhanced ventilation and shape-retaining properties. The stretchablewarp knitted mesh may be manufactured by general warp knitting machinessuch as Tricot, Raschel, and Milanese knitting machines, the same as inthe description referring to FIGS. 3-4. At least one of the threads ofwhich the mesh is made up is stretchable and is composed of at least onenon-covered stretch yarn and a plurality of non-stretch yarns. Thenon-covered stretch yarn and the plurality of non-stretch yarns areprovided in rows without being twisted with each other, as shown in theenlarged view of FIG. 3.

When a wearer wears the cap 20 as shown in FIGS. 5-6, the cap stretchesin the circumferential direction to enhance wearing comfort due to rapidsweat evaporation and ventilation through the pieces 130-160 of thecrown portion 100. The wearer can adjust the size of the cap 20 byadjusting the size adjusting member 400.

Although the front pieces of the crown portion are stiffened in thefirst and second embodiments, it should be noted that all pieces or apart of the crown portion can be made of the warp knitted mesh accordingto the specific design.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1. Elastic headwear comprising: a head-covering portion beingstretchable in at least a circumferential direction thereof and having aplurality of front pieces, side pieces and rear pieces, at least onepiece among the side pieces and rear pieces being made of a stretchablewarp knitted mesh which comprises at least one non-covered stretch yarnand a plurality of non-stretch yarns; and a sweatband being stretchablein at least a circumferential direction thereof, wherein the non-coveredstretch yarn and the plurality of non-stretch yarns are provided in rowswithout being twisted with each other.
 2. The elastic headwear asrecited in claim 1, wherein the stretchable warp knitted mesh of thecrown portion is aligned such that the course direction of the mesh issubstantially identical with the circumferential direction.
 3. Theelastic headwear as recited in claim 1, wherein the non-covered stretchyarn is preferably selected from a non-covered spandex yarn and atextured yarn.
 4. The elastic headwear as recited in claim 3, whereinthe non-covered spandex yarn is polyurethane yarn.
 5. The elasticheadwear as recited in claim 1, wherein the non-stretch yarns aresynthetic yarns which are selected from Nylon, Polyester, PolyethyleneTerephthalate (PET), Polyethylene (PE), and Polypropylene (PP).
 6. Theelastic headwear as recited in claim 1, wherein front pieces of thecrown portion are stiffened.
 7. The elastic headwear as recited in claim1, further comprising: a size adjustment member disposed on rear piecesto further adjust the size of the crown portion.
 8. A head-coveringportion of a headwear, comprising: a first portion correspondingapproximately to a front of a user's head; a second portion; and a thirdportion between the first and second portions, at least one of thesecond portion and the third portion comprising a stretchable warpknitted mesh.